Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA)
A large population nucleus and nearby communities which have a high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus. Each SMSA consists of one or more entire counties (or county equivalents) that meet specified standards pertaining to population, commuting ties, and metropolitan character. In New England, towns and cities, rather than counties, are the basic units and should be substituted for "counties" where counties are cited below. SMSA's are designated by the Office of Management and Budget.
Data products from the 1980 census will report on 323 SMSA's:
(1) 287 defined before January 1, 1980 (including 4 in Puerto Rico); and
(2) an additional 36 (including one in Puerto Rico) established as a result of 1980 census population counts. The 36 new SMSAs were designated when 1980 counts showed that they met one or both of the following criteria:
1.Included a city with a population of at least 50,000 within its corporate limits, or
2.Included a Census Bureau-defined urbanized area (which must have a population of at least 50,000) and a total SMSA population of at least 100,000 (or, in New England, 75,000).
An SMSA includes a city and, generally, its entire UA and the remainder of the county or counties in which the UA is located. An SMSA also includes such additional outlying counties which meet specified criteria relating to metropolitan character and level of commuting of workers into the central city or counties. Specific criteria governing the definition of SMSA's recognized before 1980 are published in Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 1975, issued by the Office of Management and Budget.
With two exceptions, each SMSA has one or more central cities, up to a maximum of three, and the names of these cities form the title of the SMSA. The Nassau-Suffolk, NY, SMSA has no central city, and the title of the Northeast Pennsylvania SMSA does not contain the names of its three central cities: Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Hazleton.
SMSA's are identified by a FIPS 4-digit numeric code, which follows the alphabetic sequence of SMSA names. SMSA's are outlined on small scale maps in several 1980 report series. SMSA data appear in most 1980 census publications and summary tape files. Many SMSA's cross State boundaries, and reports in several series provide summaries for the State parts of multi-State SMSA s, as well as SUSA totals. Summary tape files present data only for State parts of SMSA's, except for the "national" files: STF's lC, 2C, 3C, and 4C.
A comparison of 1970 and 1980 census products reveals two types of changes in metropolitan territory. First, 69 new SMSAs were created from previously nonmetropolitan territory: 36 were defined in 1981 based on 1980 population counts and 33 were defined between 1973 and 1979 based on current population estimates. (An additional SMSA--Rapid City, SD--was provisionally recognized based on population estimates, but it did not qualify according to 1980 census data.)
The second component of change to metropolitan territory between 1970 and 1980 was the redefinition of many of the SMSA's which were recognized in 1970 census tabulations. Of the 247 1970 SMSA's, 101 were redefined in 1973 based on 1970 census commuting data, most by the addition of 1 or more counties (or towns and cities in New England). In addition, one SMSA was redefined by the addition of one area and the deletion of another (Wichita Falls, Texas), one was subdivided (Nassau-Suffolk SMSA was created from a part of the New York SMSA), four pairs of SMSA's were combined into single SMSA'S (for example, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas), and four SMSA's lost area that was added to other SMSA's. In addition, the names of several SMSA's were changed in 1973, one in such a way that the SMSA code also changed (San Bernardino-Riverside-Ontario to Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California).
Since SMSA's are always defined in terms of whole counties (towns or cities in New England) for which extensive data are available, users can usually compile figures for comparisons over time.
In 1982 or 1983, SMSA boundaries will be reevaluated using 1980 census data on commuting, labor force, population density, type of residence, and population growth, according to new criteria spelled out in the Federal Register, January 3, 1980 (vol. 45, no. 2, pt. VI). At that time, new outlying counties may be added or existing ones deleted, some area titles will be changed and new central cities designated, some areas may be consolidated, and a few new SMSA's may be created. Further, the term "standard metropolitan statistical area" will be shortened to "metropolitan statistical area" (MSA). These changes will not affect publication of for SMSA's.
